Review: ERIC CLAPTON at Schottenstein Center

In Rolling Stone's countdown of the top 100 guitarists, the late Eddie Van Halen described Eric Clapton as "basically the only guitar player who influenced me - even though I don't sound like him. There was a basic simplicity to his playing, his style, his vibe and his sound. His solos were melodic and memorable - and that's what guitar solos should be."

Slowhand, Clapton's moniker, put the Schottenstein Center on notice Sept. 8 on why he is ranked second on that Rolling Stone's list. Opening his tour in front of a "hometown" crowd, the former Yardbirds/Cream/Derek and the Dominos guitarist rollicked through a 17-song setlist retracing the highlights of his widely diverse career.

Clapton, who also has homes in Antigua, Venice Beach, Calif., France, and Surrey, England, bought a home in Columbus after marrying Watterson graduate Melia McEnery. In an interview with the late Larry King, Clapton said Columbus "is very much like England to me. It has the same sort of countryside, rolling hills, you know, small kind of civilized communities of people that all know one another."

Launching his tour in Columbus, Clapton opened his show with an instrumental version of "God Save The Queen," to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II before going through a blitzkrieg of "Tearing Us Apart," "River of Tears," "Key to the Highway," "I'm Your Hoochie Man and "I Shot the Sheriff."

Clapton is the only person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times - for his solo work and for his stints with the Yardbirds and Cream. At 77, Clapton is one of only six guitarists still living who made the top 15 of that 2015 Rolling Stone list of top guitarists, joining Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, the Who's Pete Townshend, Led Zepplin's Jimmy Page, the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards, and Jeff Beck.

Clapton showed off his musical range, playing reggae (The Wailers' "I Shot The Sheriff"), the blues (Charlie Segar's "Key to Highway"), soft ballads ("Tears in Heaven" and "Wonderful Tonight") and classic rock (Cream's "Badge").

To slide from genre to genre, Clapton assembled a top-notch contingent of sidemen including Doyle Bramhall II on guitar, Nathan East on bass, Sonny Emory and Steve Gadd on drums, Paul Carrack (organ and keyboards) and Chris Stainton (keyboards) and Katie Kissoon and Sharon White on vocals. Carrack, who was the voice behind Ace's "How Long," Squeeze's "Tempted," and Mike and the Mechanics' "The Living Years," and Stainton seemed to play off each other while East (who also played a stand-up bass) and Braham seemed to energize Clapton's guitar playing.

After blazing through a six-song opening set, Clapton slowed the show down by switching to acoustical guitar and strumming through "Driftin' Blues," "After Midnight," "No One Wants to Know You When You Are Down and Out" on an acoustic guitar. He closed the acoustic set with "Layla," and a somber reading "Tears In Heaven," his ballad to his son Conor. Carrack weaved in a few bars of Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale" into "Tears In Heaven," which seemed to fit in perfectly.

Clapton returned his electric axe to crank out Cream's "Badge," the ballad "Wonderful Tonight," Robert Johnson-penned "Cross Road Blues" and "The Sky is Falling," a favorite of Clapton's friend, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan's brother Jimmie opened the show with a powerhouse five-song set.

Clapton pumped out crowd-favorite, "Cocaine," for a high energy closer to his regular set. It may seem like an odd choice, considering Clapton is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict as well as the founder of the Crossroads Centre rehabilitation facility in Antigua. He said J.J. Cale's lyrics are about the perils of cocaine use and "cleverly anti-drug."

Clapton, who played 11 cover tunes, four songs from his solo career and two songs from his former bands in the concert, closed with an explosive execution of Bo Diddley's "Before You Accuse Me." Jimmie Vaughan returned to the stage for the final number and added fuel to the closing tune's fire.

For non-fans, it would be easy to dismiss Clapton's first return to Columbus in 15 years as a part of the "Twilight of the Gods" showcase of the 70-plus musicians. And yet, at 77, Old Slowhand proved he should be still up there at the top of the best guitarist list.

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